Seborrheic dermatitis, also known as seborrheic eczema and seborrhea, is a chronic superficial inflammatory disease of the skin capable of affecting many parts of the body including the scalp, eyebrows, nasolabial creases, lips, ears, sternal area, axillae, submammary folds, umbilicus, groins, and gluteul crease. The disease is characterized by many shapes, sizes, and surface textures and is often crust-like, yellowish, and accompanied by itching. This is also characterized by remission and exacerbation.
The etiology, pathogenesis and histology of seborrheic dermatitis is unresolved. However, it bears close clinical resemblance to psoriasis and many researchers are of the belief that both conditions share a related etiology, notwithstanding that psoriasis is a broader and less definable condition. Therein, psoriasis typically differentiates over seborrheic dermatitis in its absence of itching and its resistance treatment by compounds, such as, selenium sulfide and zinc pyrithione which have been employed in the treatment of seborrheic conditions.
Some researchers attribute seborrheic dermatitis to a zinc deficiency while others consider its etiology to be microbial. Yet others believe that a hormonal influence exists since the condition does not appear before puberty. It has also been hypothesized that a specific fungus, i.e., a lipophiolic plemorphic the fungus is responsible for various forms of seborrheic dermatitis. As such, the argument that yeast, a common form of such fungus, is at least one cause of such dermatitis, is considered a persuasive one.
Prior art which reflects the view that seborrheic dermatitis is a zinc deficiency is reflected in U.S. Pat. No. 5,997,852 (1999) to Akiko, et al, entitled Remedy For Dermatitis, while the school that views seborrheic dermatitis as microbial in origin and, thereby, urges treatment of the same with antibiotics, is reflected in U.S. Pat. No. 4,965,935 (1986) to Rosenberg, et al entitled Topical Treatment Of Psoriasis With Imidazole Antibiotics. As such, Rosenberg, et al equates pathogenic psoriasis with pathogenic seborrheic dermatitis. In this view of the condition, it is also common to employ polymycin B-hydrocortisone, i.e., a cortisone-medicated antibiotic, as a topical liquid.
The instant invention derives from the school which views soborrheic dermatitis as essentially fungal and, as such, caused by organisms at the largest end of the spectrum of microscopic organisms. That is, organisms larger than bacteria, but is still not visible to human eye. These include as yet undetected microorganisms, amenable or responsive to treatment with topical ivermectin.
The present invention constitutes a method of treatment of seborrheic dermatitis consisting of the application, in the form of either a lotion or a cream, of a mixture comprising a therapeutically effective amount of ivermectin in water in a concentration of about 750 micrograms per milliliter (mcg/ml), in the case of a lotion, and with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier if used as a cream. Such a lotion or cream is applied nightly for a period of seven days and then employed on a maintenance basis one to four times per month.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a curative topical therapy for the treatment of seborrheic dermatitis.
It is another object to provide a safe and effective method for the treatment of such dermatitis which will afford a substantially permanent relief therefrom.
The above and yet other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the hereinafter set forth Detailed Description of the Invention and claims appended herewith.